The Project for Public Spaces, an outspoken advocate for taking a ‘placemaking’ approach to community planning and development, has an interesting article posted on their website about job creation. The piece, “Putting Our Jobs Back in Place," touches upon a number of the major talking points that the Center for 21st Century Communities (21c3) focuses on - especially Physical Design & Walkability and Transit.
The article makes a good point that job creation in the 21st century happens where people and businesses can gather. Market squares, community centers, mixed-use spaces, bustling main streets, schools, high tech and new economy incubators and other types of hubs - these all play a large role in job creation, according to the article. For example, its writer supposes that business owners and their workforce are looking for “physical proximity to others in the same fields, giving places with a critical mass of high tech, financial, legal, media, design, advertising and other industries a distinct advantage."
In downtown Detroit, the transformation of Campus Martius Park “spurred major redevelopment which brought many new jobs and a half-million dollars in new investment in offices, shops, condos and a hotel to the city. Compuware, a leading IT solutions company, built their corporate headquarters housing 4000 employees across the street from the future park...This is a prime example of how urban districts with a vital sense of place can take advantage of changes in the way business is done,” according to the article.
Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info.
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